


Did you see that, Shinji?

by Meadz



Category: Persona 3, Persona Series
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, M/M, Multi, Past Relationship(s), Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-16
Updated: 2013-08-16
Packaged: 2017-12-23 18:00:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/929437
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meadz/pseuds/Meadz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It takes a while to move on and Akihiko isn't the only one suffering from grief.  Mitsuru and Akihiko pay tribute to a friend and lover.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Did you see that, Shinji?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Rethira](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rethira/gifts).



     There was a particular problem which needed to be addressed, Mitsuru had found upon her return to the SEES dorm one night.  There were reports of odd activity: the subject expressing the odd activity being one Akihiko Sanada.

“Dude, just leave it alone, Yuka-tan!  The guy’s mourning in his own way.” Mitsuru had stilled at the bottom of the stairs when she heard the more boisterous member of SEES speaking up.  Not that he needed to when his voice naturally echoed but, this once, Junpei sounded especially upset with his classmate.

Mitsuru carefully placed one heel on the next step up, taking care not to create too much noise as she edged closer to the conversation.

“Maybe but…” Yukari did not sound entirely convinced. “Have you even been watching him, Junpei?  He’s like a ghost.  All he does is wander around, not talking to anybody and-it’s creepy but some of the girls in our class said he’s been acting weird.  He jumps at everything.”

There was a moment of silence in which Mitsuru did not move and she took advantage of it to process what she was hearing.  Clearly there was a member of SEES in emotional turmoil and somehow she had missed something which her kouhai did not.  Due to the timing it was not difficult to ascertain who the subject of their concern was.

The click of her heels as she made her way up the dorm stairs were the only warning the others had before she appeared at the top.  She crossed her arms over her chest and walked with purpose, her own concern pushed aside as she regarded the group of quiet teenagers sitting at the table. 

Ken looked up, one of the few not looking shocked at her appearance, and she smiled inwardly at that.  For a child so young he had been through so much and become wise beyond his years.  He knew she had heard everything but he spoke for the sake of the others, “Akihiko-senpai’s been acting strange.”

She nodded once, “I am aware.  He…. Akihiko and Shinjiro have always been very close.” Memories assaulted her of times gone by and it was all she could do to distance herself emotionally.  These children, her kouhai, depended on her to lead them emotionally.  For her to fall apart would be a disaster. “I believe that he may need more time as he moves through the stages of grief and… He will need all of us to be understanding.”

She looked over them all, fully aware of how they tired of Akihiko’s cries in the midst of battle.

“I will speak with him.  In the meantime, please be patient.” She bowed her head, allowing a modicum of sadness to escape as silence spread throughout the second floor.  Her heels echoed as she turned her back to them and made her own slow escape before they realized just how the loss had affected her.

 

   “I’m a mess aren’t I, Shinji?” It was an understatement but there were no other words Akihiko could find for what he was experiencing.  Maybe he was losing his mind- the sudden loss of yet another part of his childhood pushing him over the brink of insanity.  Maybe the Dark Hour was getting to him or all of the swirling colors in the twisting madness of Tartarus finally triggered some strange psychotic break. 

Except he wasn’t crazy.  He was one hundred percent sure of everything he did, he was completely aware of the reality of Shinjiro’s death and he knew his best friend was never coming back.  So why was he still feeling those eyes on him, judging him when he said something stupid, amused and somewhat proud during his ventures into Tartarus?  Why did he feel that familiar caress over his head at night, that gentle petting of his hair which Shinji had often snuck when he thought he was sleeping?

Every time he turned the corner he thought he saw a flash of the familiar trench coat, in the midst of a crowd he would see a dark beanie and occasionally he could hear Shinjiro’s voice in his ear telling him that he had to let go of the past. 

If only that was as easy as it had seemed that day at Shinji’s memorial.

A gentle series of three knocks brought Akihiko from his thoughts and he swung his legs over the side of his bed, his feet settling on the floor and his position upright before he called out to his visitor.

“Come in.” He watched the door with tired eyes, knowing just from the soft raps against the door who it was.  The one person who could understand.  The one person who knew that Akihiko hadn’t just lost a friend.  He’d lost his best friend, his brother in arms and his occasional lover.

Mitsuru appeared as tired as he felt when she entered, her eyes sad and moist with unshed tears.  She turned her back to him to shut the door and Akihiko knew that everything Mitsuru did had a purpose.  She was composing herself, readying a mask to put on for him so that they could focus on his grief.

She placed one hand on the door, her perfect nails dark against the wooden frame.  Just one moment.  She only needed one moment to gather her emotions and lock them away.

Her breath caught as a hand closed over hers, his rough hands pressing her palm against the wood until her pale fingers splayed wide.  His right hand snaked around her waist, pulling her hips back against him even as he pushed her forward until her breasts painfully pressed against his door.

“Akihiko…” Her voice trailed off as she searched for words to address their situation.  This was wrong. 

She closed her eyes and felt the first tear trickle down as she remembered their last time.  Shinjiro at her front, Akihiko at her back, all three of them moving in perfect rhythm as their kouhai spoke amidst themselves a floor below.  There was a constant worry that they would be intruded upon or that the teenagers below would know what was happening.  If they ever suspected the relationship their senpai shared it was never mentioned. 

“Don’t tell me: They think I’ve lost my mind.” Akihiko’s breath tickled her ear and she had to twist to speak, her lips not far from his. 

“No.  They’re concerned about your well-being.  Your outbursts at the end of our battles are distressing at times.  They believe you may be in denial still.”

‘Hmph’ was Akihiko’s response as he let go of her waist and pulled back, leaving her alone by the door so he could sit on the edge of his bed.  He looked up at her with a sad smirk on his face.

“I know it seems insane, Mitsuru.  Maybe I have lost my mind but I don’t think he’s left me.  I think-I know how it sounds but hear me out-I think he’s with me even now.  Ken sometimes feels his mother watching over him, doesn’t he?  What makes this so strange?”

“Amada is a child and he makes no such outbursts.” Mitsuru paced over to Akihiko’s side and sat beside him, her head falling to rest on his shoulder. “We have to set an example, Akihiko.  For the sake of the others we must be strong.  We are in the midst of battle and I feel this may be the beginning.  We have no knowledge of what our future holds, it could bring tragedy, so we must prepare ourselves for the worst.  Yet we must live in the moment as well and pass on hope to those younger than us.  They look to us for guidance and so, for them, we should be strong.”

Her eyes raked over the trophies in Akihiko’s room, focusing for more than a few seconds on the older ones who wore battle scars.  There had been times in the past when those trophies had been ammunition, thrown during one of Akihiko’s fits.  She was never sure if he rehearsed such things but the results were always impressive.  No sooner had a trophy smashed against a far wall, Shinjiro’s head not far from that spot, but the darker boy would stride across the room and it would be Akihiko shoved against the wall.  Their bodies would meet in a brutal struggle for dominance, a hand would sift through white hair and then fist, pulling back to bring Akihiko’s mouth in that perfect angle for Shinjiro to claim.  Mitsuru would sit on the edge of this same bed and watch, her breath caught in her throat, a heat spreading throughout her lower body and her breasts tingling.  She wished to be a part of this, to join them, but she hadn’t dared until much later.  From her vantage point she had the joy of seeing Akihiko’s pale, white haired form writhing underneath Shinjiro’s dark, well-toned body and, because of this, she knew the truth.  She knew they were two halves of a whole and should never be apart.

That had been why it had destroyed all three of them when circumstances took them apart.  Mitsuru blinked, bringing herself from her memories, and placed a well-manicured hand on Akihiko’s knee.

“I know what it seems like, Mitsuru, but I’m alright.  Really.” He gave her a sad, understanding smile. “Maybe… Maybe the speech isn’t for me.  But then you never did visit the memorial for Shinji by yourself, did you?”

She shook her head once and let her hand drop away from his knee, resting it in her lap.  It had seemed so wrong to visit when she found it too bothersome to cry.  Even here nothing more than a few tears would escape.

“Come on, it’s never too late to pay tribute and… I have an idea about what sort he’d like.”

Akihiko laid back on the bed and stretched out, his night-shirt riding up to expose an abdomen which Mitsuru never could resist touching.  The tips of her nails traveled over every line as she kicked off her shoes.  Akihiko shifted up onto the bed and, taking the invitation, Mitsuru followed. 

She sat on his lap, one leg on either side of him and her skirt stretched as she looked down at him.  One by one her fingers undid the buttons of her shirt and his hands raised just enough to pull it down off of her before tackling the bow, undoing it but leaving it around her neck.  There, in nothing but her skirt and red satin bra, an idea came to mind.

Akihiko slid a hand under her skirt, his fingers reaching out to caress between her legs, and raised himself up, one elbow sliding back to support himself as he kissed the top of her breasts. 

“Is this really the time?”

“It’s the perfect time.” His words were punctuated with a gentle bite of her breast, nipping just the right place to make her gasp.  Mitsuru licked her lips and pressed her body down upon his, her knees supporting her as she rolled her groin against his.  His fingers were still stuck between both of their bodies, yet another barrier between their groins. 

Shooting him a look of annoyance she pulled back from his touch and slid down to rest on his legs.  Akihiko shot her a look of his own and was about to cry out when he saw just what she was doing.

He blushed as he looked down at her unbuttoning his pants and raised himself up enough to help her slide both his boxers and trousers off.  It was such a familiar scenario that Akihiko could have sworn he heard a deep chuckle in his ear.  “I uh... forgot about that.”

“Obviously.” Her smirk was a mixture of affection and ‘idiot’ as she tossed the clothing to the floor.  She raked her eyes over his top and proceeded to undress herself. “I trust that you can take care of the rest without me.”

He had pulled his shirt over his head so, luckily, Mitsuru had missed his eye roll.

“Now, where were we?” With her red hair down and her pale body entirely exposed Akihiko found himself looking up, marveling at her.  A little whisper in the back of his mind was cursing at him, telling him to stop be such a fucking idiot with all that gawking.

Shinjiro’s voice of reason was just the kick Akihiko needed.  He grinned at Mitsuru and placed his hands on her ass, pulling her back up to sit on his lap.  His erection pressed at the folds of her pussy and she rolled her hips forward, causing him to groan while admiring the red spreading across her cheeks.

     There was an extra heaviness between them as they explored one another’s bodies, no rush as their mouths met and her fingers trailed up over his chest.  When he raised himself up, knocking her hands away before crushing her breasts against his chest in a tight embrace, Akihiko could not help but think how strange it was for the two of them to be doing this without their third partner. 

‘Watch this, Shinji.’ Akihiko sent his thoughts out into the universe in the hopes that his friend was watching them.  This was their tribute.  This was how they could honor their fallen lover. 

Mitsuru gasped as he shifted forward, one hand sliding down to position himself just right before slipping into her.  Her arms wrapped around his back, nails raking his skin even as she looped an arm around, pulling them close.  Their mouths met in a heated kiss, tongues stroking one another as their moans melted between them.  Slowly the heat in the room increased.  Mitsuru’s hard nipples brushed against his chest, his cock slid in and out with only a small amount of effort and her nails dug into his back, making small crescent scars to go with his new memories.  Tensions were building with each movement, sweat made their bodies slick and the extra moisture made it that much easier to glide against one another.

Mitsuru’s head felt back with a quiet cry of pleasure, her body shuddering as Akihiko grunted, letting loose inside of her.  They held each other as they rode their climax and when Akihiko’s erection flagged enough to fall out of his friend they both slid down to lay on the bed, Akihiko pulling Mitsuru’s back to his front.  He kissed her neck and smiled, looking off.

Mitsuru’s soft chuckle broke their silence and, for the first time in days, her words were not heavy with hidden sadness. “Did you see that, Shinji?”

Akihiko’s laughter joined hers as he decided that yeah, maybe Shinji had, and maybe, with Mitsuru around, he could get a little bit better at moving forward without looking back at the past.


End file.
